• As we approach the holidays owner surrenders tend to increase and adoption numbers tend to decrease as people want less to deal with around Thanksgiving and Christmas where they either plan to travel or have family visit. This is the worst at the shelters where some owners just dump their dogs on their way out of town.


  • And add in the number of people that have lost their jobs and homes… this has greatly increased surrenders...


  • @ComicDom1:

    Pat, I talked to the guy tonight. He has someone coming by to look at the dog and also Brat has contacted him as well. According to the owner this dog has not been neutered. From the information we were able to get Miranda saw that the Bitch used in his breeding tested Fanconi clear so at most he could be a carrier. We did not find any other Fanconi testing information on the Sire or other members of the litter. The impression I got from talking to the owner is that if there were any other way he could possibly manage he would not consider giving up the dog.

    Is it me, or does there seem to be many more basenji's needing to be re-homed lately?

    Jason

    Jason & Miranda….
    If the bitch that was used is in the OFA data base, is it possible to trace back to the breeder? Is there a kennel name?

  • Houston

    Ideally he would be able to keep him, but if not, I sure hope a B savvy person adopts him, so he doesn't end up in shelter somewhere.
    ComicDog, if you hear more, please keep us posted. Thanks for contacting him, is good to hear that people care..
    I guess it seems more dogs are being given up and they are not all older or really young, they all seem to be about 4-6 yrs..vs, elderly or semi puppy..wonder why. Economy is probably not helping the cause..but to give your dog up because of that…come on, they don't really ask for much, just some food and lots of free love..

    Traveling obligations are different though, at least this guy wants was best for his dog, as supposed to leaving it alone for long periods. Wish Trevor the best of luck..


  • I disagree Petra, when there are hard economic times… it is quite understandable that people might need to give up their pets... if it comes between feeding your human family or feeding the dog... I think the human wins every time... and there is Vet Care and to me that is very important along with food, shelter, and Love... so if you do not have the money to properly care for your pet, you are not doing that pet much justice, IMO. And then consider living arrangements. There are many, many rentals that refuse to allow pets... and again, when it comes to shelter for a family... the pet is going to lose out, again IMO... and it is not easy to hide a dog (of any breed)... cats a bit different...


  • Pat I couldn't agree with you more.

    The vet care is a big one that people don't take into account, especially when they get a pup at a young age. I mean, after all, what vet care does a pup or dog need before 5 (some people's thinking - NOT mine) :rolleyes::rolleyes:. They can just take their animal to the local pet store get a vaccine for $10, that's all they need, right? If they can't properly afford to care for the pet (whether food or vetting) the pet is better off in another home, IMHO. I'm sure I'll get slammed for that.

    I see people add pets (cats/dogs/horses) to their home all the time, have lots of animals and then when one of them gets truly sick not get it vet care (ride it out instead of spend some money to help the animal) - and these are people that aren't destitute (or at least appear not to be - big houses, fancy cars).

    When Brando broke his leg and I was at the Emergency Vet, you would not believe the number of calls that came in. The receptionist would tell them there was an automatic $89 charge for just seeing the animal - nearly every caller hung up. I was really shocked - if you are calling an emergency vet, doesn't the animal need care?


  • Before I came out on the road, I considered starting a pet "ambulance" service. (I was a people EMT.) There are a lot of folks who don't know which vets are available in evenings, especially in rural areas. I would have doubled it as pet taxi for routine vet and grooming visits. There are elderly and disabled folks who can't get their animals to these locations. I didn't have an appropriate vehicle at the time, just an open-bed pickup.
    Transportation is another reason some pets don't get the care they need.


  • @renaultf1:

    Pat I couldn't agree with you more.

    The vet care is a big one that people don't take into account, especially when they get a pup at a young age. I mean, after all, what vet care does a pup or dog need before 5 (some people's thinking - NOT mine) :rolleyes::rolleyes:. They can just take their animal to the local pet store get a vaccine for $10, that's all they need, right? If they can't properly afford to care for the pet (whether food or vetting) the pet is better off in another home, IMHO. I'm sure I'll get slammed for that.

    I see people add pets (cats/dogs/horses) to their home all the time, have lots of animals and then when one of them gets truly sick not get it vet care (ride it out instead of spend some money to help the animal) - and these are people that aren't destitute (or at least appear not to be - big houses, fancy cars).

    When Brando broke his leg and I was at the Emergency Vet, you would not believe the number of calls that came in. The receptionist would tell them there was an automatic $89 charge for just seeing the animal - nearly every caller hung up. I was really shocked - if you are calling an emergency vet, doesn't the animal need care?

    No slam from me, I totally agree… and if you think about it... if you really love your pet.. then maybe the kindest thing you can do is re-home.....

    It is the people that just "dump" the dog, move and let it, turn it loose on the street, etc... that really get to me...

  • Houston

    I agree Pat, you are right, We just went through a rough time ourselves, were my husband changed jobs (in may) and his old job refused to pay him his over $12,000.00 outstanding pay, with no money coming in from the new job( he is on staright commission, so ususally paychecks don't happen until 30-60-sometimes even 90 days later) and this old boss refusing pay (it got ugly, correct authorities were informed and we won) but still 4+ months before we saw a decent paycheck, it is tough, and he is our sole provider.. So now we are in debt up to our eyeballs, but handling it and moving on..that being said, I would not let me pets go easily…or at all.
    Here in Houston, there are plenty of apartments that do take dogs, so if we had to move, we would have to look for an apartment like that..not one that doesn't except pets..
    Yes food gets costly and of course vetting even more so..
    luckily Houston has not had it as bad as some other areas in the country, so I am not in the same boat as a lot of people, thus they are giving their pets up..
    It is hard, and must be such a hard decision to make, you'd think, I don't wish that upon anybody.

    Renault1, I agree with you too.


  • I think this man is being responsible. And I can see where a career change or economic difficulty can force the re-homing of a loved pet.

    I get irritated when I see someone say, "Oh, I just don't want him any more." Like an animal is a piece of old furniture that they can just throw away.

    I have to ask people who say that why they didn't think about a fifteen-year or more commitment before that animal invested its emotional capital in them. Kind of like a verbal whack upside the head.


  • There's a lot of rentals available out there due to people going crazy buying houses up to rent them and creating a glut. So there's a good chance you can negotiate having pets. You may have to pay some extra security money up front but you can get it back if there's no damage when you leave. Having rental money coming in is better than an empty house/apartment.


  • BMama-You're the best!

    My dogs are my family - they stay.


  • I think its often good these folks get the dogs into rescue. The last few I have seen have been pretty thin and needed vetting. At least we can get them treated and rehomed.
    Often the dogs are so happy to be well cared for, they don't even look back!


  • AJ has been the best dog I've ever had. I think it has to do with the fact he's a rescue boy. He knows which side of the bread his butter's on.


  • Does this boy have a home yet?

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